Street-car fender.



No. 650,88I. Patented June 5, I900. A. VEGIARD DlT LABONTE &. J. A. I. CRAlG. STREET GAR FENDER.

(Application filed Dec. 9, 1899.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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. Patented'lunefi, I900. A. VEGIABD DlT LABON-TE & J. A. l. CRAIG. STREET cAn FENDER.

(Application filed Deg. 9, 1899.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Shae 2.

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NITED Srn'rnc PATENT OFFICE,

ALPHONSE VEGIARD DIT LABONTE AND JOSEPH AMBROISE ISAIE CRAIG, OF MONTREAL, CANADA, ASSIGNORS OF ONE-THIRD TO GILBERT VEGIARD DIT LABONTE; SAID CRAIG ASSIGNOR OF HIS REMAINING RIGHT TO MARIE MARGUERITE PHILOMENE CRAIG, OF SAME PLACE.

STREET-CAR FENDER.

SPECTFTCATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,881, dated June 5, 190$"). Application filed December 9, 1899. Serial No. 739,843. (No model.)

To Cl/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALPHONSE VEGi'ARD DIT LABoN'rn and 'JosnPH AMBROISE IsA'In CRAIG, of the city of Montreal, in the district 5 of Montreal and Province of Quebec, Canada,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Car Fenders; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

: Our invention relates particularly to the type of street-car fenders known asdropfenders, and it has for its object to provide a fender that will be certain in its action and effectively prevent a body, however small,

[ passing beneath it to the wheels of the car.

For full comprehension, however, of our invention reference must be had to the'accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which like symbols indicate the same parts, and wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of ourfender in place on the front of a car and with the apron removed. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof,

and Fig. 3 is a detail View of the detent dez 5 vice for locking the fender in its elevated position. a

Our fender portion proper is of L form,with its forward end at extending diagonally of the front of the car. An apron is hung from the vertical portion C of the fender and is connected at its forward end to the front of the horizontal portion d thereof, this apron preferably consisting of a series of longitudinal resilient slats b.

3 5 The fender is hung from the car by a pair of laterally-projecting pins C on the sides of the vertical portion 0, said pins taking one into a perforation in a forwardly-projecting rigid arm C 'on the front of the car-platform,

40 at one side thereof, and the other resting in a vertical slot in the forward end of an arm C similar to the arm C but located at the opposite side of the platform.

The object of supporting the fender at on side in a perforated arm and at the other side in a slotted arm is to insure that ,the sides of the diagonal front of the fender willrest upon the road-bed at the same time, to which end the shorter side of the fender must obviously fall a greater distance than the longer side. The slot provides for this greater fall.

A rotary brush 6 is mounted at the front of the fender and has a gear-wheel f carried rigidly by one end thereof and adapted to intermesh with a gear g, rigid upon one end of a spindle 72, mounted in bearings upon the horizontal portion 01 0f the fender. A sprocketwheel 5 is mounted rigidly upon this spindle and is operatively connected by a chain j to a second sprocket-wheel 70', mounted r'ig- 6o idly upon a stub-spindle Z, carried rotatably in bearings upon a rearward extension m of the fender-frame, said stub-spindle having a gear-wheel 12 also mounted rigidly thereon and adapted to at times intermesh with a gear-wheel O, mounted in a bracket, which der side of the fender in position to rest upon the rails when the fender drops, the gearlwheels n and 0 being caused to intermesh only upon the dropping of the fender, as will be hereinafter set forth.

Our improved means for causing the fender to drop when it strikes a body consists of a rearwardly-movable frame or leader consisting of a bar r, having a pair of rearwardlyextending rigid arms 3, pivotally connected at their ends to a pair of arms 25, mounted 8o rigidly upon a rotatable rod u, carried in bearings 'v on the under side of the fender. An arm 2, rigidly carried by this rotatable rod, is adapted to bear upon the under side of the lower curved end 8 of a lever fulcrumed to a bracket 4, secured to the under side of the car-body and taking at its upper and horizontal end 5 through an opening in the lower end 6 of a rod 7, extending upwardly through the platform 8 of the car and through a'guiding-sleeve 9, carried upon-the upper side of .the platform. This rod 7 is connect-- ed at its upper end to the flattened end of a' lever 10, fulcrumed to one end 11 of abracket carried rigidly by a tubular standard 12 and 5 extending beyond each side thereof, said lever being bent around said standard and the other end thereof bearing beneath the arm 13 of a pawl 14, held yieldingly in a position to engage in a notch 14 in a vertically-adjustable rod 15, located in said tubular standard, which is slotted, as at 16, to allow the passage therethrough of the pawl at a point where it will engage the notch 1a when the rod is in its lowermost position. This rod constitutes part of the means both for looking the fender in its elevated position and for raising the fender after it has been dropped, while the lever 10 constitutes a treadle whereby the pawl can be disengaged from the rod 15 and the fender dropped by the motorman.

The fender is raised by the following means The upper end of this red is furnished with a handle, and the lower end bears upon an arm17, mounted rigidly upon a rotatable bar 18, carried at one end in a bearing 19 and at its other end in the arm C arms 20 and 21, also mounted rigidly upon said rotatable bar 18 and bearing, respectively, upon the rear of the fender and upon the under side of the portion of the pin 0' which projects inside of the fender-frame and is provided with an antifriction-roller.

The raising of the fender by the means just described simultaneously causes the leaderframe to be moved to its forward position by an arm 23, rigidly mounted upon the beforementioned rotatable rod 1!, and connected by a link 24 to one end of a lever 25, fulcrumed upon the rear cross-bar 4 of the fender and having its other end connected by a link 26 to the lower end of a bar 27, carried rigidly upon the under side of the platform.

The connection between the leader and car body before described and consisting of the rotatable rod 11., arm 23, link 24, lever 25, link 26, and bar 27 has the important function of automatically drawing the leader rearwardly beyond the brush 6 to be completely out of the way of an object struck when the fender drops.

The leader is supported in contact with the under side of the fender preferably bya fiat spring 30, secured at one end to the fender and bearing upon and supporting the said leader at its other end.

It is obvious that very little resistance to the leader is required to move it back, thereby rotating the rod u and through arm 2, which acts as a cam, raise the leverarm 3, draw down rod 7, and disengage the pawl from rod 15, when the fender will fall of its own weight, and the same result is attained by depressing the treadle.

13y constructing the fender to have the front thereof extend diagonally of the front of the car the tendency will be to throw a body to one side, while the rotary brush, which is put into operation immediately the fender drops, will effectively prevent any body, however small, passing beneath the fender, but rather tends to throw the object upon the fender.

If desired, a special motor for driving the brush can be provided or other means pro= vided than what is illustrated and specifically described herein for automatically causing the fender to drop or other changes made in the precise construction of the fender without departing from the spirit of our intention.

\Vhat we claim is as follows:

1. The combination with the front axle of a car and a gear-wheel mounted rigidly thereon, of a drop-fender; means for dropping said fender; a rotary brush carried at the front of said fender; a gear-wheel mounted rigidly upon said brush a shaftcarried by the fender; a gear-wheel mounted rigidly upon said shaft and intermeshing with said last-mentioned gear-wheel; asprocket-wheel mounted rigidly upon said shaft; a rearwardly-projecting frame formed in one with said fender; a shaft carried by said frame; a sprocketwheel mounted rigidly upon said shaft; a

chain operatively connecting said sprocketwheels to one another; and a gear-wheel mounted rigidly upon said last-mentioned shaft normally free of the gear-wheel mounted upon the car-axle and adapted to intermesh with said gear-wheel when the fender is dropped substantially as described.

2. The combination with a drop-fender and means for supporting said fender of means for causing said fender to automatically drop when striking a body, said dropping means consisting of a rearwardly-movable leaderframe; a rotatable rod carried by the fender, and having a pair of rigid arms pivotally connected to said leader-frame; a cam-arm carried rigidly by said rod; a lever fulcrumed adjacent to said supporting means, and connected at its upper end thereto and the lower end of said lever extending over said camarm substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with a drop-fender, of means for supporting said fender consisting of a slotted tubular standard carried by the platform of the car; a vertically-movable rod 15 located in said standard and notched; a bracket carried by said standard; a pawl fulcrumed to said bracket and engaging,through said slotted standard, in the notch in said rod; a rotatable bar 18 carried adjacent to said rod; an arm 17 rigid upon said bar 18 and borne upon by the lower end of said rod 15, and rigid arms 20 and 21 bearing upon and supporting said fender, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination with a drop-fender, of means for supporting said fender consisting of a slotted tubular standard carried by the platform of the car; a vertically-movable rod 15 located in said standard and notched; a bracket carried by said standard; a pawl fulerumed to said bracket and engaging,through said slotted standard, in the notch in said rod; a rotatable bar 18 carried adjacent to said rod; an arm 17 rigid upon said bar 18 and borne upon by the lower end of said rod 15, and rigid arms 20 and 21 bearing upon and supporting said fender; and means for disengaging said supporting means comprising a bracket carried by said standard, a lever 10 fulcrumed to said bracket and bearing at one end upon said pawl; alever fulcrumed adjacent to the other end of said lever 10; a rod connecting said last-mentioned lever to the adjacent end of said leverlO; a rotatable bar it carried by said fender; an arm mounted rigidly upon said rotatable bar and bearing upon the under side of the end-3 of said lastmentioned lever; and arms t mounted rigidly upon said bar it, a rearwardly-movable leaderframe carried by and projecting beyond the front of said fender, and pivotally connected to said arms 25, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination with a dropfender of a leader, having arms 8, s; a rotatable baru the under side of the car-body and a link 26' connecting the other end of said lever to said bar, substantially as described and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof we have aflixed our 30 signatures in presence of two witnesses.

ALPHONSE VEGIARD Dl T LABONTE. JOSEPH AMBROISE ISAIE CRAIG. .Witnesses:

VVILLIAM McFEAT, FRED. J. SEARS. 

